49ers must clean up these 3 vital stats in Week 8 vs. Rams
By Peter Panacy
Stat No. 3: 49ers have to ‘get right’ in turnover department
The 49ers haven’t been good in terms of turnovers the last two weeks.
During that two-game skid, the Niners offense has turned the ball over six times while only generating two takeaways on defense, and that minus-4 turnover differential in that timeframe is a primary reason why San Francisco is on a losing streak.
To date, the 49ers are now at minus-3 in the turnover-differential department.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been responsible for four of those (three interceptions and one lost fumble), and this has hindered both the Niners’ offensive and defensive units.
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However, this is an area in which San Francisco has an advantage over the Rams in that LA is actually at minus-5 in the same turnover margin, and quarterback Matthew Stafford has already tossed eight interceptions against six touchdowns this season despite playing one fewer game on the year because of LA’s Week 7 bye.
Stafford can be just as turnover-prone as Garoppolo, yet the 49ers can look to exploit the advantage by protecting the ball and forcing Stafford to make mistakes.
If the Niners clean that up, they’ll be in good shape on Sunday when these two teams square off at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30.